The Anomaly
by Zay Williams
Summary: Tyler Denton had suffered through a lot. First, his sister mysteriously disappears. Then, he experiences strange phenomenon that makes him question his sanity. However, the night his sister appears, his life begins to spin out of control.


**Chapter 1**

"Simple Extraction"

She hated the matrix. Everything in it was tainted and counterfeit. The streets, the buildings, nature… all false. Even the way people interacted with one another. Some feigned interest in order to feel included. Others fabricate sadness whenever catastrophe struck, knowing all the while that since their lives weren't interrupted personally, life went on as usual. No hiccups, no stumbles.

Maybe it was the underlying loneliness of it all that repelled her. The bitter realization reminded her of the real world—scorched and desolate—where the truth hurt and ignorance could get you killed.

Neither the matrix nor the real world was fit to live in. The matrix was a prison. Despite its appearance it was still a cage. There was no truth in it, no freedom and no life.

The real world was no better. The real world was treacherous and cold. It was no longer thriving and friendly. People didn't wander aimlessly anymore. There was no sun to bask in. Survival had won out over joy and contentment. Mankind was forced underground like scurrying rats.

Maybe she hated the matrix because she couldn't stomach the real world. Maybe the reason she loathed coming back was because she hated leaving. She felt the matrix mocked her with every visit, reminded her of what she had to go home to… Nothing.

Nothing except for the truth. Though, sometimes a bitter pill to swallow, at least she had the truth.

Now, she realized why she loved the missions. The secrecy, the adrenaline rush, the combat were all ways to escape the harsh reality of not having a home to go back to. Sure, there was the last human city, but it wasn't the home she grew up in. And neither was the world the same as in her childhood.

This mission wouldn't be her last—but it will be the most important. A simple nightly excursion is what her boss called it. She knew, however, that it was all but simplistic. The fact that the mission was aborted three times already was proof enough.

On paper the mission may have been simple. Locate the target and extract it with as little confrontation as possible. Get to the rendezvous point and get out.

That would have been simple if the target wasn't her twelve-year-old brother.

"Simple excursion my ass," she muttered as she crept down Granten street in a neighborhood that was dark yet all too familiar.

Every time she came here her heart ached. Waves of memories flooded her emotions, nearly physically knocking her to her knees. Her eyes burned with tears. Yet, she wouldn't let herself cry. There was no use crying over the past.

Mr. Henderson's garden was still as she remembered. It was a floral masterpiece, each year his garden spelled out one word of encouragement to the local families. This year's word was "vigor" in white carnations illuminated with yellow flowers on a green bed of grass. The sight infused her with a new drive to complete her assignment.

Soon, she was standing under a streetlight at Hanneldon road. She was about to step into the street when a chill shot down her spine. Something was wrong.

She backed up and knelt in front of Mrs. Flannery's iron fence. She couldn't see through the darkness, but every fiber in her being told her she was being stalked. Her mind began racing out of control.

She looked to her right and, against the backdrop of the light down the street, she saw something dart across Hanneldon and disappear in the shrubbery. She squatted down on her left knee and sat on her ankle. With the other knee in her chest, she flattened her palms against the pavement—kind of in a runner's fashion as if waiting for the gun to go off.

Her black cat suit would keep her from being seen by a normal eye. But, her enemies were far from normal. She tried to remain quiet, but the whole neighborhood went silent. She no longer heard the birds or crickets or tree frogs.

Something was definitely wrong.

The thing in the shrubbery moved. It darted back across the street and jumped into Mrs. Flannery's yard. She could hear the rustling come closer. Should she make a run for it? Her destination was only four blocks away. If she ran as fast, she could be able to make it. However, if this were her enemy, she would lead it right to the target and be trapped in the process.

Whatever it was, it was almost upon her. She could feel it on the other side of the fence and was coming even closer.

She decided to make a break for it. She leaned away from the fence and took three deep breaths. Then, she took one long slow one. Now is the time. Her body said to flee.

It was coming closer.

Suddenly, her cell phone went off. A flock of birds startled her as they fluttered from Mr. Henderson's garden. She jumped in fright and rammed her back into the iron fence causing a cat to yelp and jump right over her. It landed in the street and turned to look at her. Then it darted into the garden and shot through the pet door.

She let out a huge sigh of relief and grabbed her phone. With a flip, it was open and up to her ear.

"Sorry about that," a feminine voice on the other end apologized. She could hear typing in the background, followed by whooshing and various beeps.

"That's OK," she answered. "It was my fault for not putting my phone on vibrate in the first place. Besides, it was just a cat."

The woman on the other end sighed.

"Damn it!" she slammed her first into the iron fence. "How many are there?"

"Four," the woman answered. "You're surrounded. Maybe next time."

"I'm not leaving without him, Tak."

"There's always next time," Tak answered. She could read the disappointment in the woman's voice. "Let's get you out of there."

"I'm not leaving! I don't care how many there are. That's my kid brother in there and he wants to wake up! We can't leave him in there for much longer. Who knows what they'll do to him, next. I have to get him out!"

"Nicole," Tak sighed. She said something else but her voice trailed off as if she thought better of it. There was a long pause before Tak spoke again. "If I think for one second you're overwhelmed then I'm pulling the plug on this. I don't care if he's in your arms when I do. Got that?"

Nicole didn't answer. Instead, she put the ringer on vibrate and closed it. With it tucked away in its case, she darted down Granten towards Tenth Street.

The next street over was Seventh. This time Nicole knew for sure that she was being followed. Her phone buzzed into her thigh.

"There's six, now," Tak answered without waiting for a greeting.

"I'll make it." Then, she hung up.

Two had joined the one behind her. That much she did know. She had no clue where the other three were. She sped up, running nearly at full speed. At Ninth Street, she noticed one of them was running with her the next street on her left. She had overtaken the corner too fast to look in the opposite direction for the other one, but she assumed one was following her there too.

Nicole cursed when she remembered the next street. The man on the corner was a hermit and put up a tall, red-bricked wall to keep out onlookers. Some of the neighborhood kids had tagged the wall with graffiti. But the one thing she remembered was that the wall was taller than she was. There was no way to look down the street towards her old home until she passed that house and was out in the open. She didn't have time to stop and peek since she was being followed.

Her hip buzzed again. This time she didn't answer it. Barreling forward, she hardly had time to glance down at the corner of the brick wall. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the shadow of someone around the corner.

When she was younger, she was a star track athlete. She was fast and nimble. But she would never be able to make her way around someone who was ambushing her from the corner. Her only hope was to cut the corner by jumping the wall.

Her strides widened—almost into leaps. In classic triple-jump fashion, she bounded up the wall. She caught the top of the wall with her palms flat and flipped over the corner. She landed in the street with catlike grace.

Nicole looked back and saw a man standing on the corner with a black suit and sunglasses. He turned to face her as he reached into his blazer. She spun to her feet and kicked at the man. Her boot made contact with his hand and a berretta clanked on the pavement and into a sewer drain.

She spun again and brought her heel down hard on the man's neck. His knees buckled a little, but he recovered quickly. She didn't have time to react as he reached around her leg, grabbed her by the collar and flung her. As her back slammed into the brick wall, all Nicole could think of was Tak pulling the plug before she reached her brother.

She ducked as the man swung. His fist collided with the brick wall, causing a chunk to fall at Nicole's feet. She shoved the man back and swept his feet. Time seemed to slow down as she focused on the man's legs. Before he could fall to the pavement, she grabbed him by the ankles and swung him like a bat. His head connected with the brick wall with a sickening thud and the force crumpled the wall like a teetering bunch of blocks.

She left the man in a heap and stepped into the street. Her home was two houses down from the corner. She was almost there. Just a few more yards and she'd be at her old driveway. Her home before she'd known the truth.

Halfway across, there was a loud burst behind her. Chunks of rock nicked her arms and a huge piece bashed into the back of her skull. She felt her head as she looked towards the man she had bested a second ago. Blood covered her fingers as he stretched and dusted off his suit.

The three men —also garbed in black suits and sunglasses—finally caught up with her. The other one held them off with a raised hand. The three looked at each other but didn't move.

"Finish her off, Brown," the one on the far left said.

'Brown' leapt at her. While Nicole managed to dodge, he elbowed her in the jaw and flung her to the ground. She could imagine Tak readying herself. Now was not the time to tussle.

"Screw this," she said and she grabbed Brown's punch and flipped him over her hip. But before she could make her way to the house, the other three grabbed her. "Let me go!" she yelled.

With lightning speed, she punched each one in the face, ending her flurry by giving Brown a solid knock to his temple. His glasses shattered. Yet, he did not let go. None of them did. She struggled but the more she freed herself, the tighter they held.

- - -

Tyler awoke from a very frightening dream. He imagined he was floating in a vat of pink liquid with all sorts of wires protruding from his limbs. He couldn't breathe and swore he saw millions of people in the same situation.

He scooted to the edge of the bed and swung his feet off. The sting of the cold, hardwood floor told him he was awake. But, the dream was still fresh in his mind.

What on earth could have caused him to have such a vivid nightmare? Was it something he ate? The last program he remembered watching was a drama about some ill-mannered doctor making unorthodox decisions in order to cure his patients. That couldn't have caused his dream.

His thoughts where snapped by some commotion going on outside. He stood and slowly walked to his window. He pulled back the curtain and his eyes widened. Was he asleep or not? He could only stare as his long lost sister was fighting with four strange men in suits while two more joined in. Mr. Mason's wall looked like a wrecking ball had smashed it to pieces.

He wanted to call out to her, but his voice never came. He placed his hand on the window, as if trying to will his strength to her so she could fight harder. He stared at her face as she looked up and saw him. She reached out for him, called for him again, and struggled even more to free herself.

One of the suited men looked up and glared at Tyler. Then, he quickly marched for the front door. Tyler was in shock. The man was coming for him. Who knows what he would do?

The little boy turned to call for his mother. He had to get to her—to make sure she was safe. But, when he turned around, another suited man grabbed him by the mouth and flung him back into the bed.

Tyler struggled and sat up, finding himself alone in his room. He jumped up and ran to the window. Nothing. His sister was gone and so were those strange men. The brick wall showed no damage. Had it all been just another dream? It couldn't have been. The floor was cold, just as it is now.

His breathing became labored with confusion and guilt. If he could have gotten to his sister sooner would she be here next to him, now? His breath glazed over the glass and he saw his handprint.

Something _had_ happened!

Quickly, it faded away. He breathed on it more but nothing happened—just a cloud of haze on the glass. He tried again and again nothing happened. Could he have imagined it? He nearly hyperventilated as he tried to find the print again.

Nothing.

"How?" was all he could ask as he sat back in the bed. It couldn't have been a dream. He saw her…didn't he?


End file.
